Now Official: Serena Williams to Gain Reinstatement
Breaking: The 23-time major champion will be eligible to return before the end of the month.
I’ll have the typically exhaustive post-major notebook with all sorts of Melbourne miscellany coming soon to Bounces, but I first wanted to pop out with a big piece of news in the Serena Williams comeback story I’ve been covering here at Bounces, including her initial plans in December and further details that became clear last month.
The morning after Serena’s divisive appearance in a Super Bowl commercial for weight loss drugs, there was the clearest, most official sign yet of the 23-time major winner’s comeback:
For the first time since September 2022, Serena Williams is, officially in the eyes of tennis authorities, no longer a retired player.
The International Tennis Integrity Agency website updated its list of reinstatements proactively on Monday morning, indicating that Serena Williams will have completed her six months of reentry in the anti-doping testing pool on February 22nd, just 13 days from now.
That February 22nd reinstatement would give Serena plenty of time, if she’s ready, to return to competition at ATP-WTA 1000 Indian Wells, where the main draw begins on March 4th. Or she could be ready for ATP-WTA 1000 Miami a couple weeks after that, or subsequent events at Madrid, Rome, Roland Garros, Wimbledon—wherever she wishes.
Singles, doubles, mixed doubles: the 44-year-old Serena will be eligible to do it all.
This February date also confirms a bit of the reporting I had on Bounces back in December: Serena applied for reinstatement in August after inquiring about the possibility of playing last year’s U.S. Open, which was not possible at the time due to her self-removal three years earlier from the testing pool.
Now that her comeback is fully undeniable and official, we wait for Serena to talk openly and honestly about her plans and motivations for the first time.
To stay tuned for all the latest on Serena’s comeback, and all sorts of other news and stories from the wild world of professional tennis, please subscribe to Bounces to get all the latest updates in your inbox! -Ben
She can drive to Miami Open so maybe she will play her first match there in dubs with Venus
I think it's funny her super fans think it's inappropriate for Serena to be subject to real journalism. Her super fans believe her being asked about her obvious return to the sport is wrong because journalists should just turn a blind eye and let her marketing team create a publicity stunt "shock" & "surprise" return to tennis. (Apparently it is also ok for Serena to lie and pretend she is confused why this topic is being mentioned on Twitter and in interviews.) But when Serena does announce her return, she will want as much journalists covering it as possible. It reminds me of when Naomi wouldn't do press interviews after matches during French Open 2021, but did a fluff piece interview and cover shoot in Vogue Japan around the same time. I do not think athletes can have it both ways, imho.